Kansas?
by Darkl26139
Summary: Buffy and Willow find themselves in Smallville. Can the Justice League help them get home again? Chloe/Clark Willow/Buffy pairings. Hope you enjoy. Special thanks to MysticWolf1 for helping turn my ideas into words.
1. Chapter 1

**Kansas?**

Buffy lightly slaps Willow's face as she pleads "Will, Will, come on. I need you. You have to get us out of here. Come on, Will. Wake up!"

Willow's battered and bleeding face looks up at Buffy and takes a moment to recognize her. Drunkenly she lifts her arm and points. Power flows from her to a point in the air and a portal starts to form.

Buffy does her best to ignore the monstrous howls and snarls growing ever closer. She knows Willow will come through despite her injures. Just in case, she grips the hilt of her broken sword tighter. She promises they will not take them alive.

"It is done." Willow rasps and passes out once more.

Buffy drags them both through the portal. The portal's light is blinding and she is forced to shut her eyes. As they exit the portal, she opens her eyes to find they are in a corn field. Definitely, not England. It looks more like the American Midwest. Where they are is not that important at the moment, she has to find help for her and Willow. She knows she cannot go much farther before her strength fails her but she also knows that Willow will bleed to death if she doesn't get help soon.

Ignoring her blurring vision, Buffy drags them through the corn towards a farmhouse she can see in the distance. It takes all her concentration to keep moving forward. She is having more and more trouble drawing a breath and Willow gets heavier and heavier. Determined not to give up, she push on.

Chloe is enjoying a quiet day on the Kent farm just relaxing on the porch basking in the sun. Clark and most of the league are off planet preventing some epic disaster. Only Draggon was left behind so Earth wouldn't be completely undefended. As if she didn't know, Clark meant so she wouldn't be undefended. She swears he thinks she is the most fragile thing in all the universe. Normally this would totally piss her off but it so hard to be mad when he is being so sweet. 'Damn him.' she thinks with a mental laugh.

Spending time with Draggon is not torture by any means. He is still working on human customs but he has managed to loosen up some. Who knew Impulse could be a good influence on anyone? Right now, Draggon is taking care of the farm chores. They both know it is just another excuse for him to be near her at the farm but he knows enough not to admit that Clark asked him to watch over her.

Suddenly, Draggon comes running out of the barn yelling for her to get in the house. 'Like that is ever going to happen.' she thinks. She may not be a front liner like him but she is still a member of the league. She jumps up and runs after him. She follows him into the corn field where she sees two badly injured young women making their way towards them. When the blond sees Draggon, she puts her friend down and lifts a broken sword. It is clear she intends to fight. Trying to avoid an unnecessary battle, Chloe shouts "Wait. He is friendly."

Tracking the source of the dimensional rift to midway into the back cornfield, Draggon knows this can only be an attack. No one who knows the value of this location would approach that way. Preparing for battle he races into the field. He knows Chloe is following but he did try to warn her of the danger. He didn't expect her to listen but he promised Clark he would try. Why Clark cannot accept Chloe is able to handle herself, he does not understand. Even more surprising is that Chloe puts up with this over protectiveness.

As he approaches the source of the rift, he sees two injured females. Realizing there is no way they can pose a threat as they can barely stand, his mind switches over to figuring out what he can do to help them. When the blond female lifts her weapon, he pulls up. He raises his claws defensively but keeps his distance. Chloe's shout does not seem to convince the woman so Draggon takes a few steps back to reassure her.

'Oh great, another demon. Leave it to me to find the only demon infested part of the Ohio or wherever we are.' Buffy thinks to herself. She puts Willow on the ground as gently as she can and brings her broken sword to attack position. She tries to defiantly shout "You will not take us alive." but no sound comes out of her cracked throat. Still her posture should get the message across to whatever it is.

When the demon stops, she thinks it is just studying her before attacking but the shouts of small blonde girl running behind the demon give her pause.

Almost completely out of breath when she reaches the group, Chloe needs a second before she can say "He is friendly (pant) we are friendly (pant) I am Chloe (pant) let us help you. (pant) Need to work out more."

"I wish you no harm. Clearly you and your friend are injured. Let us help you. It what we do." Draggon says seriously.

"What are you Superheroes or something?" Buffy says with as much sarcasm as she can muster.

"Exactly." Draggon replies completely missing the sarcasm.

Chloe, having recovered her breath, approaches cautiously. "I know it is hard to believe here in Kansas but he is a member of the Justice League. I swear we only want to help." Chloe explains.

Buffy has no idea what a Justice League is but it doesn't sound evil. With few options and trusting her gut, she lowers her sword. She tries to stay on her feet but finds herself on her knees.

Chloe rushes forward while Draggon still keeps his distance not wanting to startle either stranger. She looks over the blonde then turns to the red head. "I think you will be ok. Your wounds look mostly superficial but your friend is hurt much worse. She has lost a lot of blood. My power will let me heal her but it takes a lot out of me so you will be alone with Draggon. Don't worry he won't hurt you. He is a good guy." she says with a bright smile.

Buffy nods at Chloe too weary to do more. She will accept any help to save Willow and worry about the price later. When she sees Chloe placing glowing hands on Willow, she assumes the girl is a witch. She is not expecting Chloe to then slump over in a ghastly shade of pale. "She looks, oh my god, she is dead!" Buffy exclaims as her enhanced slayer sense confirm Chloe no longer has a heart beat. She tries to move to the poor girl who just died helping them but the demon is there first.

"This is what happens sometimes. She will recover." he says in a way Buffy thinks is meant to be reassuring.

"She gets better from dying?" Buffy remarks before her exhausted and now overloaded brain shuts down. In a very ungraceful way, she falls face first into the Kansas mud.

With three unconscious human females lying around him, Draggon ponders the best way to get them all to the house. He picks Chloe up and puts her on his shoulder. The red head she healed goes on his other shoulder and the blonde he lifts with his tail. It takes a bit of effort to get them all in the house but he manages.

Thanks to Chloe's healing, there is no sign of injury still on the red head so Draggon checks the blonde first. He bandages several wounds but none appear serious. In fact, he can see them healing as he works. She must be an enhanced human to heal so quickly.

Willow wakes with a brutal headache. She squints her eyes to look around and sees she is in a house. She has never seen it before but it looks homey and inviting. As she examines the room, she sees a demon kneeling next to Buffy's unconscious form. For a moment, Willow's heart stops fearing for her friend's life but then she notices the tender way the creature is bandaging Buffy's wounds. 'Wow, those demons really worked them over.' she realizes. Wait wasn't she dying? Looking at her own body, she can see the holes in her clothes and all the dried blood but her skin is healthy and pink. Clearly, someone used magic to heal her. 'Why not Buffy?' she wonders.

Trying to speak takes several tries as her throat is so dry. When she manages it, she asks "Where are we?"

The creature turns and approaches. His massive frame is intimidating but Willow forces herself to stay relaxed. He could have killed them easily since they are not dead he must be friendly she reasons.

"You are in Kansas on Earth. I cannot be more specific because the location of this house is a secret. Have no fear; I will not harm you or your friend. I am Draggon proud member of the Justice League. You are safe." he says with surprisingly good English.

"Thank you for help us. How did you heal me? Can you do the same for Buffy?" Willow inquires.

"When my friend, Chloe, recovers I am sure she will heal her if she needs it. I don't think it will be necessary though as your friend is not like normal humans. Her wounds are healing fine on their own. I only bandaged them to stop the bleeding." Draggon explains.

Realizing she had skipped over introducing herself, she adds "I am Willow and that is Buffy." She coughs a bit from her dry and sore throat so she asks "Can I get something to drink? Water perhaps?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Of course, the sink is over there (points to the open kitchen area); glasses are in the cabinet next to it. Please help yourself to the frig. I don't have to eat as often as humans so I am not the best host. Please let me know if there is anything you need." he says in a friendly manner.

Getting up Willow makes her way to the sink, finds a glass and takes a long drink of water. 'Wow, the water is so clean and refreshing.' she thinks. It has none of the aftertaste that Sunnydale's water had. Answering the grumbling in her stomach, she peeks in the frig. Finding an apple, she takes a bite and walks over to check on Buffy. She moves a stray stand of hair from Buffy's face and gives her a light kiss on the cheek careful not to wake her. They had been through so much Buffy deserves a nice long nap. Looking at her tattered clothes, she asks "I don't suppose there are some spare clothes I can borrow?"

"Chloe will not mind sharing some of hers and I think Lois' old clothes will fit your friend. Come with me, I will show you were they are stored." Draggon explains and heads carefully up a set of stairs that creak under his weight.

Following, she finds him digging in a hall closet. The sight brings a smile to her face. She never expected to see a demon doing something so domestic. After a minute, he brings out a box which is marked "Lois". He then takes her to a bedroom. He knocks respectfully on the door then enters. Willow drops her apple when she sees the dead girl carefully tucked in the bed. Panic starts to overcome her as she realizes this is one twisted demon. She starts to back out of the room.

Seeing the look of horror on Willow's face, Draggon assures her "She will recover."

'Crap, he thinks she is just resting. What the heck did her and Buffy walk into this time?' frantically flashes through Willow's mind. When the girl in the bed suddenly sits up gasping, Willow runs out of the room. In her still weakened state, she trips and stumbles down the stairs. She hits a bookshelf opposite the bottom of the stairs hard and stuff rains down on her.

All this noise wakes Buffy who jumps up and looks around for the threat. She sees Willow lying against a bookcase wiping glass out of her hair. Chloe comes running down the stairs with Draggon in tow.

Chloe says calmly "It is ok. I bet that freaked you out. It does everyone the first time they see me come back from the dead. It is just how my healing powers work."

Willow is trying to process what the girl said when Buffy comes over and helps her to her feet.

"It is ok, Will. They helped us." Buffy says reassuringly.

"You don't understand. She was dead." Willow explains.

"Well, I have died like what 3 times now?" Buffy points out.

"Good point." Willow concedes. "Sorry, I should be used to all the weird stuff with the life we lead. (sheepishly) I was afraid your friend there was one twisted evil puppy who liked to keep people as pets. It has happened before." Willow explains.

"Draggon is one of the good guys. (points to a symbol on his clothing) He is a member of the Justice League, just like me." Chloe replies.

"What is a Justice League?" Buffy asks.

"You don't know the Justice League?" Chloe replies stunned. These girls either have been living in a cave or they are from a lot farther away than they thought.

Draggon stands straight and tall as he says with pride and conviction "The Justice League is a group of beings who use their various abilities to protect the people of this and other worlds from the forces of evil."

He has been hanging out with Clark too much again Chloe realizes. "Basically, we are the good guys." she clarifies.

"Sorry, we have never heard of you but we are pretty busy. We save the world too." Buffy explains.

"Do you mind if we use your phone to call out friends?" Willow asks.

"Sure. (picks up phone and hands it to Willow) Use this one." Chloe replies.

Willow dials one, then another and another number trying to reach Slayer HQ but they all come up as either wrong numbers or not in service. That confirms her theory. "I can't reach HQ because I don't think we are on our Earth. I must have portaled us to a parallel world. Sorry." Willow admits.

"That would explain a lot." Buffy and Chloe remark together. They share a brief moment as they look at each other then they both smile and laugh.

"You owe me a coke." Buffy adds.

Draggon tries to be helpful by saying "My scanner detected the portal you opened. It will contain the dimensional coordinates to get you back to the world you just came from."

"We don't want to go back there. That was a hell dimension. We went there to kill a demon lord who was trying to destroy our world. As you saw, we barely made it out of there but we got the bastard." states Buffy.

"Besides we don't travel using tech, not when my girl Will is here to work her magic." Buffy adds.

Chloe raises an eyebrow when she sees Willow blush. She knows that look. It is exactly the one Clark gets when she compliments him. 'Are they more than friends?' she wonders. Since there is no polite way to ask, she just files that suspicion for later. "Is there anything we can do to help?" she inquires.


	2. Chapter 2

I want to thank MysticWolf1 for all her help.

**Part II**

As they are talking a device starts beeping on Draggon's belt. He picks up the device and a figure appears in the air. "This is Metropolis PD calling the Justice League. We need your assistance. There is a creature laying waste to downtown. Nothing we have tried has even slowed him down." explains a desperate Police Captain. They can see some of the carnage of burning cars and people running behind him.

"This is Draggon. I am on my way." he tells the police captain.

"We are on our way" Chloe corrects him. She strips off her outer clothes to reveal a costume underneath. She puts on a mask which covers most of her head. "You're welcome to stay here. We'll be back as soon as the crisis is averted." she tells Willow and Buffy.

"You will explain to Clark how I tried to stop you." Draggon states.

"I'll handle Clark. Don't worry." Chloe replies.

"We can help. Like I said, saving the world is what we do." Buffy answers.

"Seriously, we do this all the time." Willow adds.

"I appreciate the offer but both of you were just on death's door a few hours ago. It would be best to let us handle this." Chloe insists.

"We are fine, thanks to you. We want to help. Let us." Buffy pleads.

"You don't even have costumes." Chloe says knowing she is losing this argument not to mention wasting valuable seconds.

"Not a problem." Willow comments as she glides her hands over Buffy, and then herself. Their clothing changes before Chloe's and Draggon's eyes into costumes. They are dark, have a lot of leather, and look awful tight but it is a very cool trick.

"Ok, let's go. Hold on this will feel a bit weird." she tells them as she nods to Draggon.

Draggon then presses a button on his belt. A second later they are all standing in downtown Metropolis.

"Teleporter." Chloe explains.

"Handy." Buffy comments.

Looking at the scene before them, it is easy to see the path of the creature. Following it, they quickly find a huge skeletal thing tearing its way through the city. It towers nearly 20 feet tall and has four skeletal arms along with a boney tail. Impaled on the tail is the body of some poor police officer.

Draggon charges the creature and slams into its legs. It comes crashing down. As Draggon, tries to climb on top of it to get to its head, all four arms grab him. The creature throws him into a nearby building which then collapses on top of him.

Chloe looks to Buffy and Willow to ask "So any ideas how to stop that thing?"

Buffy shrugs her shoulders as she says "Hit it till it doesn't move anymore?"

"That won't work. It will just keep reassembling itself. It is a Chakual. It is not really alive. It is a bone golem. There is a scroll in its skull that powers it. If we can destroy the scroll, it will fall apart." Willow explains.

"Sounds easy enough." Buffy says as they watch a tractor trailer go flying down the street and impact into some parked cars.

"Can you distract it while I go in through the back of the skull?" Chloe asks Buffy.

"No problem" she replies as she picks up a broken lamp post and charges the Chakual. When she is closer, she throws the lamp post to get its attention. She then darts and dives its blows trying to buy Chloe enough time.

"That is my girl." Willow says fondly.

Chloe fires her grapple, and swings towards the creature. First, she swings behind the creature so she can fire an explosive dart hoping it will blow a hole in the skull. Then as she swings back around, she drops onto its skull. The hole her attack made is quickly closing but she can see the scroll. She reaches in to grab it, but is unable to get her hand out before the bone encloses her arm. Trapped, she pounds helplessly on the skull trying to free herself. She pulls various devices from her belt, but with the creature moving around so much, she is unable to use any of them effectively.

Willow sees that Chloe is in trouble, so she flies over to Buffy as she shouts "Fastball coming up."

Knowing what Willow intends Buffy jumps straight up into Willow arms as she passes over head. Willow then swings her onto the back of the creature's skull. Buffy lands next to Chloe.

Willow tries to distract the creature by buzzing it. She knows these golems have very limited intelligence and can only focus on one thing at time. Unfortunately, the golem's tail comes whipping around to slap her out of the sky. Willow slams into a car denting its roof before bouncing off and landing hard on the pavement. The two halves of the policeman's corpse land next to her. Stunned she lies there a moment catching her breathe, and waiting for the world to stop spinning.

Chloe looks at Buffy as she says "He likes me and is having separation issues."

"Some guys can be so clingy" Buffy banters back. She then punches the bone around Chloe's arm and is pleased to see it fracture. Before she can break through completely, the creature's arms come up trying to grab her. One succeeds and flings her off it. Or at least it tries because Buffy manages to lock her legs around the arm. It tries to shake her off but she holds on tight. She shouts to Chloe "Anytime now would be good." as the creature tries to scrap her off using a nearby lamppost.

Thanks to Buffy weakening the bone, Chloe is able to yank her arm free. It costs her some skin and part of her costume. Scroll in hand, she leaps free of the creature. Sensing its danger, the creature turns its attention from Buffy to Chloe. It jumps after her and catches her in one of its fists as it drags them both to the ground. Chloe cries out in pain as she feels her ribs give in the creature's claw.

With her feet under her, Buffy is able to break the claw holding her. She rushes to help Chloe. She grabs the claw holding her and starts to force it open. The creature's other claw on this side swipes at Buffy. She manages to avoid most of the blow but it still knocks her away.

Thanks to Buffy's help, Chloe manages to get an arm free. She fires another grapple and tries to pull herself from the creatures grip. For a moment, her body is stretched tight before she pulls free. She knows she will be sore tomorrow.

Safely on a nearby rooftop, she searches her gear for a lighter. _ I cannot believe I never thought of adding a cutting torch to my gear. I guess when your boyfriend can punch through solid steel you forget these things. _

Finding a lighter, she sets fire to the scroll. As it starts to burn, she sees the creature pick up a car and hurl it at her. She drops the scroll as she starts to dodge but the car stops in mid air. It reverses direction and slams into the creature knocking it off its feet.

Looking down, she sees it was Willow's magic that caught the car somehow. Willow gives her a thumbs up and sits on the ground clearly winded by the effort.

Chloe chases after the only partially burnt scroll, as it blows across the roof top. Having had enough of this creature, she uses her lighter to finish burning the scroll. As soon as the last piece is consumed in the fire the creature falls to pieces.

At this point, the rubble of the building Draggon crashed into shifts and he emerges. He leads of small group of civilians out. He is relieved to see that the creature has been defeated. He looks for Chloe concerned for her even though he knows she is capable. He breathes a great sigh of relief as he sees her on a nearby rooftop. Looking for their new friends, he finds Buffy helping Willow to her feet. Willow is sweating and looks tired but Buffy actually seems excited.

After rescuing all the people at the sight of the battle, they regroup at Justice League HQ in high orbit over the planet. Buffy and Willow have never been in space before so right after cleaning up they rush to the observation window to stare.

"Clark is going to upset when he sees those." Draggon tactfully points out to Chloe as the medical staff finishes bandaging her injuries.

Her ribs were bonded back together, but they will still be sore for a few days. The tissue she lost on her arm has been re-grown so at least until he hugs her, he won't know she was hurt. "Clark has to accept the choices I make." she says defiantly, even though they both know this will mean another lecture about her not being a front liner. She is still deciding on whether or not she will listen, or slap him. He does mean well after all. However, she did not endure all that training of Bruce's, Oliver's, and Draggon's just to sit on the farm, or on monitor duty.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again to MysticWolf1 for all her help turning my ideas into English.**

**Part III**

Regrouping in the cafeteria, they review what they know about the monster's attack. Looking at Buffy going back for yet another helping, Chloe thinks 'Even Impulse would be impressed by the amount that girl can eat.'

"Good grub from the Star Trek thingy. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's good" Buffy says in between mouthfuls. Willow just shakes her head and playfully ruffles Buffy's hair.

"It is a dish Hawkgirl found on Rela 5. It is…" Draggon starts to explain when Chloe cuts him off.

"You're better off not knowing what it is. Just enjoy it." she tells Buffy. "As to our big bad, any ideas on who is behind him?" she asks the table.

"I would say you have a necromancer on your hands, and a powerful one to animate such a large golem." Willow theorizes. "I tried to trace the magic back to its creator but this universe's magic is just different enough that I wasn't able to. I will recognize whoever it is if I meet them." she continues.

Chloe runs a search for known magic users who use necromancy. She finds one: Felix Faust. She pulls up his file so everyone can see it.

"Uh oh" Buffy and Willow say in unison.

"What?" Chloe questions.

"We know him. He was the one who traded us for the location of the demon lord. It was his spell that allowed us to get past the demon lord's defenses to attack him." Buffy explains.

"What did you trade him for this information?" Chloe asks with a bad feeling.

Buffy looks away and Willow looks down which only confirms this can't be good news. With guilt clear on her face, Willow explains "The hilt of the Sword of Ares. We thought it was a fake because it didn't … feel right. I'm guessing he wanted it because it was from this universe. According to legend, the sword can kill anyone, even a god. We never would have traded the item if we thought for a second it was real."

"Oh great. Just great. Faust is a real nut job. He's had several run ins with the league, and he has grudge against Ares himself. He just might be trying to kill a god. He would love the irony of killing Ares with his own sword. This is very bad." Chloe mutters.

"We'll help you stop him. This is our fault after all." Buffy promises. "Is there anything that would help you track him down, Will?" Buffy asks.

"There might be. If I study how magic works in the world, I just might be able to." Willow says with her "thinking" look on her face.

"What was he doing in Metropolis? We should look into museums and relic collections in the area. I bet there was another piece of the sword somewhere in the city and the golem was just to distract us so he could grab it." Chloe theorizes.

"Attention, Attention all crew. League members in bound from Gamma sector. They have casualties so all med teams to the arrival pad." comes over the station's public announcement system.

Seeing the look of concern of Chloe's face, Buffy suggests "Why don't we go meet your friends? It sounds like they could use all the help they can get."

Chloe nods as she gets up and hurries to the pad. She knows he is virtually indestructible, but she still can't get the worry from the pit of her stomach. Draggon brings up the rear, since in her hurry Chloe forgets let everyone catch up to her.

When she reaches the pad room, she sees several badly injured team members being rushed out on stretchers. Making her way into the room she is relieved to see Clark standing next to Diana and John. Diana had a bandage on her cheek and John has his non ring arm in a sling. Clark though looks fine, tired perhaps, but fine. She rushes over to him and hugs him momentarily forgetting her ribs. He hugs her back but she manages to suppress her grunt of pain.

"I'm so glad you're back. It looks like a rough one." Chloe asks Clark with her arms still wrapped around him.

"It was tougher than expected. Mongul had amassed a much larger army than we thought. Fortunately, we were able to free the worlds he enslaved and he is back in prison." Clark says seriously.

Buffy, Willow, and Draggon enter the pad room. Draggon goes to help carry S.T.R.I.P.E's armor off the pad since it is too badly damaged to function. The blood inside indicates Pat is badly injured. Draggon hopes his comrades will be ok while feeling a bit guilty that he was not there to help them. He didn't even do much to stop the bone golem and he totally failed to protect Chloe from harm. He muffles his frustration by consoling himself that, the day being saved, is all that matters. Personal glory is unimportant.

Willow walks over to the nearest wounded hero a young Asian woman dressed as a samurai and looks her over. The woman's arm is broken in a few places and something clawed deep wounds into her chest. The claw wound is seeping through the bandage on it. "I can help you, if you want." Willow offers.

Katana doesn't recognize the costumed hero in front of her, but she hurts so much she is willing to take whatever help she can get. She nods her acceptance.

Willow's hands glow for a moment as she focuses her magic through them and into the chest wound. Next she asks Buffy to help her with the arm. "This will hurt." she warns Katana as she instructs Buffy to set the bones. Katana cries out in pain when Buffy straightens her arm which draws the attention of one of the medical staff who looks over Willow's shoulder. With the arm in the proper alignment, Willow casts her spell, re-fusing the bones. She then finishes with a light sleep spell so Katana can rest in spite of the pain.

"What did you do?" asks the med tech.

"I used my magic to heal the worst of her wounds, and added a sleep spell at the end to ensure she rests. If she is like other heroes I know, (looks meaningfully at Buffy who shrugs her shoulders and puts her arms up with palms facing skyward) she won't give her body a chance to heal properly before she is out fighting evil again. This way she has no choice. She will wake up when her body has recovered. Probably in a day or so. She will be hungry when she wakes, so be prepared." Willow explains.

"Can you do that again?" asks the med tech.

"A few times. It drains me… the more magic I use, but I'll do what I can." Willow promises.

"I can't do the magic healy thing, but I do know basic first aid. I'll help anyway I can too." Buffy pips in, not wanting to be left out of helping.

One of the med staff nervously approaches Chloe and Clark. He says to Chloe "Guardian, we need your help."

"Sure, what can I do." she replies knowing why they want her help.

"Wait a second. You can't keep doing this Chloe. We never know if you will come back. It takes longer and longer each time." Clark interjects in full "I know best" Superman tone.

"We are not having this conversation again. You use your gifts to help, and so do I." Chloe turns to the tech, "Now, let's go." she says as she leads the tech out of the room. The poor guy is terrified to be in the middle of a well known, and long running dispute between them.

Clark stands there fuming for a moment. He takes several deep breathes to calm himself. He hates when she does this. It is not fair. As he starts to follow after her, he hears "Superman, can you give us hand?"

Turning back to the pad, he sees several techs trying to load Atom Smasher's giant unconscious body onto a special stretcher. Doing his best to suppress his frustration, he replies with a false smile "Sure. I would be happy to give you a hand."

Floating over to Atom Smasher, he gently puts him on the giant stretcher and lifts it. Clark then heads for the Sickbay agonizing over ever second that helping keeps him from her.

In the Sickbay, Willow sits resting. She used a lot of magic helping several heroes so she is pretty tired. There is one patient, the guy in the bat suit, she is still concerned about. He looked bad to her, but they told her they had help on the way. They asked her to focus her powers on the other less injured heroes. When Chloe walks in, she understands. Chloe waves hello as she is led over to Batman.

"Oh, Bruce. What did you do to yourself this time?" Chloe says as she sees his broken body. The scanners reveal massive internal injuries that would have killed another man already.

"We didn't know how bad he was hurt until he collapsed. He brought Hawk down. I know what I am asking, but you are his only hope." explains the med tech.

"It's ok. This is what us heroes do." she reassures the tech. She hopes her smile hides the small bit of fear creeping up from the pit of her stomach.

The tech doesn't think he could die to heal someone else even if he knew he was coming back. Scuttlebutt said she doesn't even know for sure if she would be coming back each time. Even if he knew she was coming back, he can't imagine watching his wife, Margie, die on a regular basis. No wonder the big guy has been so upset. He says out loud "We have everything prepared like last time. Someone will be with you 24/7 until you wake."

"Thanks." she says as she looks at the door hoping Clark will walk through. She knows it hurts him to watch her die, but it does make her feel better to die in his arms. (She knows) that is probably selfish of her. Knowing Bruce doesn't have much more time, she places her hands on his head and summons her power. Just as she is collapsing into the darkness, familiar arms catch her. "Clark" she says before the dark claims her once again.

By the time he gets to the Sickbay, he catches sight of Chloe standing over Bruce with her hands glowing. He drops Atom Smasher down none too gently, so he can rush to her in time. He is Superman, she does this all the time, it will be ok, he tells himself, but with her cooling corpse in his arms he wishes he was an ordinary man. An ordinary man would be able to cry. He gently places her in the bed prepared for her. He strokes her hair for a moment before he walks out of the med bay. He finds a quiet corner where he allows a few tears to roll down his cheek.

Buffy spends several minutes helping load injured heroes onto stretchers and perform basic first aid. With no more wounded arriving; she decides to go find Willow. She asks a group of heroes standing nearby discussing the battle while techs attend to their relatively minor injuries "Anyone mind showing me the way to sickbay?"

"Allow me my lady." offers a gentleman in green with a bow and arrows on his back.

"Thanks. I am Buffy." she replies as she offers her hand.

"Green Arrow is my moniker but you can call me Ollie" he says with a too big smile. He uses their hand shake to wrap his arm around hers as he guides her out of the room. The whole trip to the sickbay, Ollie tries to flirt with Buffy. While she is flattered, he is handsome after all, she feels it only fare to mention "Just so you know my girlfriend is the jealous type and can turn you into a toad if she wants."

Ollie lightly laughs that off as he banters back "Well, I hope you are a princess so then your kiss could turn me back." Buffy rolls her eyes and Ollie gets the message. He wasn't really interested as a certain bird has his heart but he does have a reputation to maintain. He leaves her in Sickbay with "I am always at the service of such a beautiful lady."

Buffy laughs as he leaves, since she has figured out he is just playing with her. It is nice, and strange, to be around someone who does what he does, and still have such a light sense of humor.

Searching Sickbay for Willow, she sees Clark standing over Chloe's body. She just met him, but even to her it is obvious how much pain he is in. She wonders if this is how her friends felt when she left them. With no words to bring him comfort, she can only watch him walk out of the Sickbay. She knows he is going someplace to grieve in peace. She is torn because she understands why Chloe needs to do what she does, but can't imagine watching Willow die on a regular basis.

After an hour, his solace is interrupted by the sound of footsteps. He detects two hearts beats, one of which he knows well. Wiping his tears he turns to face them. "I'm fine, Bruce." he tells him.

"You aren't fine! You need to resolve this!" Bruce says forcefully.

"This is your fault, Bruce!" Clark accuses. "She is lying dead because you wouldn't listen when I told you to pull back. You better hope she's all right." he practically screams. His whole body trembles with rage and pain.

"Or what?" Bruce inquires coldly. He knew his friend was having trouble with the responsibilities of being Superman, Chloe becoming a superhero, and their relationship, but he didn't realize how frazzled Clark was until today. Clark is usually so open, it's easy to forget he is capable of hiding things. He unconsciously fingers the compartment containing the Kryptonite he carries just in case.

"Whoa, let's slow down here boys." Buffy interjects placing herself between them. "She will be fine. Won't she? This is just how her power works. Isn't it?" she continues

"She doesn't know for sure if she will be coming back. In fact, it takes longer and longer for her to come back each time. One of these times she won't be back." Superman rants. His pain just exploding out of him. Sometimes it's so hard to be the Man of Steel.

"Oh." Buffy thinks for a minute absorbing what he said before she says "She is really brave. I've died a few times myself. I know its no picnic."

"What? She has no right to do this." Clark snaps back. _Who is this woman who thinks she can interfere in my relationship with Chloe. What does she know about anything?_

Buffy understands the pain he is feeling. It is so hard when your friends, and particularly your love, put themselves in death's path. She also knows he is being selfish, but so is Chloe. There are no simple answers for her to give him. Buffy tries explaining "Clark, you need to understand something. Chloe is choosing to risk her life to save the life of someone else. Just like you and I do everyday. I realize her gift is more extreme than most but it is still her gift. She has a right to use it as she sees fit. I can only imagine how hard that must be for you. I don't think I could watch Willow go through that time and again even if I knew for sure she would come back to me. You have a right to be angry and hurt, but bottom line is, you need to decide if you can live with her choice or not. You don't have the right to tell her how to live or how to die."

Clark is quiet for a few moments as he thinks. "I have lost friends and fellow heroes. A cop Dan Turpin died helping me, and he didn't even like me. Their deaths all hurt, but not like when Chloe dies. Have you ever lost the person you were in love with? It's different when you're in love." Clark states.

"My first love was my whole world, and I had to kill him." she replies as she rubs her arms with her hands. The pain of that memory is still with her. The fact he came back to her doesn't make her feel any less guilty about plunging the sword into him. It sucks to be the good guy.

Bruce and Clark see the pain on her face as she admits killing her lover. Clark exclaims "Killing is never the answer!"

"Sometimes it is." Bruce admits. He knows that sometimes you have no choice. He can tell by the pain on her face that her actions cost her dearly.

"Bruce that is nonsense. What makes us better than the Lex's of the world is that we find another way." Clark states.

"Sometimes there isn't another way." Bruce replies. He has always admired Clark's rosy outlook on life, but he never let himself be deluded about the reality.

"I killed him to save the world. He was turned evil by a magical curse. When I found him, he just used his blood to start a ritual to destroy the world. The ritual would continue as long as he lived. That's when my friends managed to reverse the curse. It was just a few moments too late. He looked into my eyes, confused at what was happening. He was so happy to see me. I told him it would be ok, and then I ran him through with a sword." Buffy explains as new tears escape the scab on her heart and make their way down her cheeks. "I could have let the world end. I wanted to, but I didn't. As much as it hurt, I did what was right. So I understand loss, believe me." she continues.

Clark is stunned by her words. It forces him to think. _Could I kill Chloe if I had too? I don't think so_. "But how do you live with something like that?" he has to know.

"One day at a time." Buffy replies.

Suddenly sirens blare and red lights go on. An announcement summons all active heroes to the ready room.

Clark and Bruce start to head for the ready room when Buffy shouts "Hey, wait for me."

When they get to the ready room, they find Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern standing watching a monitor. On the monitor are two of those bone golems. One is ripping apart London and the other is in Paris.

"Oh great more bone guys." Buffy comments.

"You have fought these before?" Superman asks. .

"Her, her friend, Draggon, and Guardian, took one down in Metropolis while we were out of town." Batman tells him.

"Chloe did what!?" Clark starts before catching himself. He ignores Buffy's raised eyebrow and says "So how did you defeat the first one?"

"It is actually fairly easy. There is a scroll in the skull. Destroy the scroll and it falls to pieces." Buffy explains.

"So it is a Chakual." Wonder Woman says.

"Yes, go to the head of the class." Buffy quips. Green Arrow is the only one who smiles at her remark, so Buffy just shuts up.

"Ok, here is the plan; Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, will take the one in Paris, and Batman and I will take the one in London." Clark orders

"Hey, don't I get to play too?" Buffy asks with a bit of brat in her tone.

"You can come with us." Batman says while ignoring the look Superman gives him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part IV**

"That is so cool." Buffy comments as they reappear in London. Her skin has a faint but not unpleasant tingle from the residual energy of the teleporter.

"There it is." Clark says as he pushes off the ground sending faint shockwaves through the air. With one arm extended, he shoots through the air and out of sight in less than a second.

"Um, wait for us?" Buffy says after him. Turning to Batman she comments "Not much of a team player is he?"

"He used to be. Hold on." Bruce replies while he wraps one of his surprisingly well toned arms around her, and with the other arm fires a grapple to the roof of a nearby skyscraper.

"Sweep a lot of girls off their feet, do you?" Buffy remarks as they swing to the battle site.

In spite of himself, Bruce has to grin behind his mask. He does retain enough of his dark avenger persona to avoid laughing out loud.

As they round a corner, Bruce swings them onto a roof top so they can get a view of the fight. Clark has taken the fight with the Chukual to an abandoned steel mill. As Clark charges the Chukka, it manages to catch him with a fierce uppercut that sends him flying. He crashes into and through a wall of one of the mills buildings. The weakened structure collapses on top of him burying him under a ton of debris.

Buffy starts to move to assist, but Bruce grabs her arm "Wait." he says in a tone which leaves no doubt he expects to be obeyed.

Buffy unsure of the rules reluctantly nods but reasserts herself by shaking her arm loose of his grip. "What are we waiting for?" she asks.

"Just watch." Bruce says.

Suddenly all the rubble explodes in a thousand directions. Several pieces impact into the rooftop where they are standing. Normally, Buffy would have moved, but when Bruce didn't she felt she had to hold her ground, some of the bits come awfully close though. Looking, she sees Clark has emerged from the rubble. He slams into the Chukual with such force the ground shakes all around them. He pounds the golem into the ground shattering its skull with a massive blow. Once the scroll is exposed, he uses his heat vision to burn it to ash.

"Wow, he is powerful." Buffy says in true awe. She remembers how strong that Chukual she fought earlier was. He took this one apart without breaking a sweat.

"The Clark I know would never have let loose like that. Look at all the collateral damage he caused. This has to do with Chloe. They are self destructing and none of us have been able to help them. You are an outsider, so maybe he or Chloe would listen to you." Bruce explains.

She meets his eyes behind the mask. There is real concern there and a something else. "You don't want to have to kill your friend." she says with a gasp.

"He is not that far out of control. In fact, most of the time he is too much in control. It is destroying who he is. What he stands for. He can't handle watching her die over and over again." Batman tells her.

Standing amongst the bones of the Chukual, Clark scans the city looking for Faust. He doesn't find him, but he does detect a robbery in progress at the Tower of London. He shouts "Trouble at the Tower of London." and flies off towards it.

"Give a girl a lift?" Buffy quips to Batman.

Willow wakes with a start. She looks around sleepily not quite remembering where she is at first. When it all comes back to her, she relaxes. She sees several costumed heroes in the beds around her but the one that holds her attention is the bed that Chloe lies in. A man in a Green costume sits in a chair next to her bed reading. He tries to hide it but she notices his eyes shift to Chloe's still form every few minutes. She feels him trying to will her back to life. Not really knowing why, she glides over to him. She sits on the edge of Chloe's bed and opens her senses trying to find any trace of Chloe. She is surprised to feel power emanating from Chloe's chest. Focusing her inner sight reveals a thread of power reaching beyond the veil. Mesmerized by it, she reaches out with her magic and grasps the thread. Now in a dream like state, she can feel the pull of the beyond. She has felt this before when she resurrected Buffy. She powers her magic into the link and it swells. It draws more and more of her power and she lets it. Knowing magic requires a mixture of study and instinct, she allows her instincts to guide her.

Oliver freezes as the new comer slowly moves her hand over Chloe. He knows Clark would be upset to find anyone examining Chloe. He made it crystal clear that she was not a lab rat. Still, Oliver watched this newcomer heal several heroes so he hopes she can help Chloe.

Chloe waits in the dark clinging to the thin thread of light. It is not yet strong enough to pull her back. She hates this part. Waiting was never one of her strengths. It is frustrating she never remembers this time. If she could, she wouldn't be so quick to return. Here she can't avoid looking at her life with more honest than she cares for. She sees the pain in Clark's eyes as hers close and knows she hurts him deeply each time. _Why do I keep doing this?_ Here she has to admit it has almost as much as to do with being his equal as it does helping people.

Suddenly, her thread of light blazes with power. A warm presences beckons for her to return to the world. She wastes no time pulling herself from the dark.

As her eyes open, she finds herself face to face with a beautiful redhead who seems familiar. Her thoughts are shattered when a man next to her jumps from his seat and drags her into an embrace. As her soul settles into her body, her memories flood back to her. "Oliver, (gasps) need to breathe again." she forces out with the little air his tight hug provides.

"Oh, sorry. I just hate waiting for you to wake up." Oliver replies as he reluctantly releases her and steps back from the bed.

"Where is Clark?" Chloe asks as she turns her head searching the room for him.

"He, Buffy, and the Bat guy went on a mission. More of Chakual golems have shown up." Willow explains.

"Good. I hate to find him just sitting here. It is easier on him if he is busy." she comments.

"Not just him." Willow blurts out surprising herself. _Where did that come from?_ Searching her mind, she finds details about Chloe floating around in there. They must have bonded somehow when Willow helped her. "Your power is unlike anything I have ever seen. You actually die, and then your power brings you back. I don't know how you can face that. Not to mention the forces you are playing with. The others, as I like to call the gods or whatever are out there, don't like us mortals crossing back and forth." Willow tells Chloe.

"Honestly, I don't know how it works. It just does. The Kryptonite in my system is the source. Clark would like me to look into removing the power, but I haven't. I can save people who would otherwise die. I have used it to save Clark's life several times. How can I give that up?" she tells Willow with whom she seems suddenly closer to. It is like hanging out with Lois without the sarcasm.

"From what I sensed, your power is weakening but you knew that already didn't you." Willow states.

Sighing, Chloe looks up at the ceiling to help suppress the tears she feels trying to get out as she replies "Yes. It takes longer and longer to come back. I know I won't come back one of these times."

"I think I can help." Willow offers.

"How?" Chloe wonders

"What's happening is you use you life force to heal whoever is injured which leaves you too weak to stay in the realm, hence, you die. I think I know a spell that would alter your power to draw strength for the world around you instead of just from yourself. If it works, you will have to be careful as you could accidentally completely drain someone and destroy their essence. I need to do some research on your universe's magic to make sure it works similarly enough as mine." Willow explains.

"Research is one of my specialties." Chloe replies as she hops off the bed. She gives the Med tech hovering nearby an "I'm fine. Go away." look and says to Oliver "Thanks for sitting with me. Let me buy you lunch later to thank you."

"You coming back is all the thanks I need. Well, I should be off doing hero stuff. Take care." and he heads out of the sick bay.

"Books scare him." Chloe confides as she leads Willow to the League's library.

Clark smashes through the Tower wall easily. He zooms in on the thief stuffing treasures into his bag. His plan is simple. Zip in and grab the guy. However, when he grabs for the thief his hands pass right through. A web of energy engulfs him. Losing complete control, Clark slams into the far wall and bounces off. Stunned and hurt Clark struggles against the energy web wrapping itself tighter and tighter around him.

"It is useless to struggle Superman." Faust says as he appears out of thin air. He holds a broken sword. Faust notices his look and comments "Not much to look at, but looks can be deceiving. Even incomplete, I am certain it is up to the task." He raises the sword and swipes at Clark. Still tangled in the web, Clark can't do much more than roll out of the way. He is not quite fast enough and Faust's blade cuts a deep wound in his arm causing Clark to cry out as much from frustration as pain. Summoning his strength he stretches the web but can't break it. _God I hate magic_. Faust swings again but Clark manages to fall into Faust's legs knocking Faust off his feet and avoiding a killing stroke. The blade still leaves a painful cut down his back. Angry now, Faust strikes at Clark's head. Clark manages to avoid the blade's edge but the flat connects solidly with his head. His vision blurs as blackness nearly overwhelms him. He sees Faust readying another strike and frantically tries to focus his heat vision to drive Faust off.

Before he can, he hears "Hey, I want to play too. Stop hogging all the bad guys." as Buffy pushes off Bruce as they swing into the room from the skylight. She connects with Faust and knocks him off his feet. The sword flies across the room and sits slowly spinning a few feet away. Faust blasts Buffy with mystical energy lifting her up and off him. She slams hard into a support pillar.

Batarangs whip in to strike Faust, but he manages to blast them before they strike, just as Bruce intended. Faust has no time to launch another spell before Bruce lands a powerful kick to Faust's midsection. The kick drives Faust hard into the back wall, and he staggers to his knees. Bruce moves up to finish him, but Faust pours power into the floor causing it to buck like in an earthquake; this Bruce counters by jumping into the air and firing a grapple. As he swings back around, Faust fires off another spell. This one ripples out from him like an invisible wave. When it hits Bruce, he is knocked to the ground as all his muscles spasm out of control. While he fights for control of his body, he sees Faust closing to finish him.

"Hey, you dropped this." Buffy quips as she swings the flat of the blade into Faust's face knocking him clear across the room. He bounces off a pillar and slides unconscious onto the floor. "Sorcerers never can take a punch," she explains as she offers her hand to Bruce.

He ignores it as he forces himself to his feet. He is concerned because Clark hasn't recovered yet. He limps over to him to find him bleeding from some nasty cuts. Also, Clark's color is wrong. It is like when he was exposed to a near lethal dose of Kryptonite. "Help him." he orders.

Buffy doesn't like taking orders, but she can see Clark needs help. She is surprised he went down so easily after watching him take apart the golem. She lifts him into her arms as the tingle of teleport surrounds them.

Bruce dumps the unconscious Faust into the care of two League personal, and helps Buffy take Clark to sick bay. There the tech rushes him into a special chamber created to treat Kryptonite and other types of poisoning. Clark's life signs improve but are still way below normal. Using special needles and other surgical tools, a Med tech inside the chamber stitches Clark's cuts.

Noticing Chloe is not on where she was, Bruce asks "Where is Guardian?"

"She recovered about twenty minutes ago, and left with the redhead new hero." a tech informs him.

Pulling out his communicator, he beeps her as he knows she will want to know about Clark's injuries. He doesn't show the relief he feels that she made it back one more time, but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel it. She is a brave woman.

Giggling like high school girls, Willow and Chloe dig through the various magical tomes in the League's possession. "Here is another one: Beware all who read these pages as you risk the wrath of Amugicone" Willow says laughing. She is not sure why they are being so silly, but it does feel good, so she goes with it. Chloe holds up a picture of a demon clearly compensating for short comings, and starts to comment, but her communicator beeps interrupting her.

"This is Guardian." she says into it.

"Get to Sickbay. Clark has been injured." Batman says in his matter of fact way.

Chloe rushes into the Sickbay asking "What happened? Kryptonite?" as she sees him in the special chamber.

"Magic.' Bruce answers.

"Let me take a look." Willow offers. She enters the room, and she is nearly overwhelmed by the presence of death in the room.

Death faces her, freezing her in place as it sends to her mind "There is no need of your magic witch. It is not his time, but he is closer to me than he has been. One day, he will be mine and neither of you will be able to take him from me."

"You claim all of us eventually. I don't challenge your right. I use my magic only to correct wrongs." Willow sends back.

"Perhaps but you would take her if you could and that was fate, not a mistake. And the other cheats me far too often. Her, I look forward to claiming." Death states as it returns to the other side of the veil.

The moment Death leaves, Clark's vitals instantly improve. Willow, however, is terrified. Death doesn't take a personal interest in anyone, but this manifestation seemed angry at Chloe. _Is her power damaging the balance? I hope I am right about that spell. Otherwise, I may be forced to stop Chloe from using her power no matter what she wants. _The very idea of robbing someone of their control over their own body sickens her, but as Buffy has taught her, the world has to come first.


	5. Chapter 5

Part V

Chloe sees the monitors improve and dashes into the room shouting "Thank you." to Willow as she rushes to Clark's side. She holds his hand as tight as she can knowing it is sometimes hard for him to notice light touches on his impervious skin. She is relieved to feel a gentle squeeze back.

Buffy sees Willow stagger as she leaves Clark's room. Buffy knows that look. Something happened that totally freaked Will out. Offering her arm for support, she helps Willow to a nearby bed. Brushing Willow's hair out of her face, Buffy meets her eyes as Buffy knows direct eye contact makes telepathy easier on Willow.

"We have a problem. I encountered Death in the room with Clark. It was not happy with Chloe. I think she might be throwing this universe out of balance. I think that is why we are here. I still owe the universe for what I did. I think I was sent here to restore the balance here. I think we have to stop Chloe from ever using her power again." Willow sends to Buffy.

The telepathy is so intense it is hard for Buffy to follow what Willow is sending as Willow's emotions are also sent along with the words/images. Buffy has never gotten use to this form of communication. It makes her too vulnerable. She hopes Willow understands. However, she gets the gist that Chloe's power is somehow negatively affecting this universe. She shivers from the sheer terror that comes along with Willow's projection. Gripping her lover's hand, she sends back "We will find a way to help." The confidence she sends along with her message comforts Willow.

**Several Hours Later**

"With Clark out on another mission now is probably a good time to try and speak with Chloe." Buffy tells Willow.

"Let me lead. We have a bond of sorts." Willow replies.

Nodding, Buffy follows Willow out of their guest quarters in search of Chloe. They find her in a glass room near the top of the station just staring out at the emptiness.

"Hey, got a minute?" Willow quires.

Turning to look at them briefly before turning back to the window, Chloe answers "Bad news time. I saw your face when you and Buffy were outside Clark's recovery room. So just tell me."

"I think I figured out why Buffy and I ended up here. A while back I did some pretty major evil stuff. I lost my mind when my girlfriend Tara was murdered. (Buffy grips Willow's hand gently) Since that dark time I have been trying to make amends. I think part of my penance is coming here." Willow explains.

"So what do you have to do? Take my power?" Chloe says turning to face them with tears in her eyes. "I don't know if I am happy or terrified at the thought of losing this ability. I know what it has done to my relationship with Clark and my friends but I have helped so many people. Honestly I can't say I use my power for totally selfless reasons. You don't know how hard it is to be in a relationship with someone who the whole world looks up too. My power helps put us on a more equal footing. Before my ability Clark was always too afraid something would happen to me to be with me. I don't want to lose him but it seems no matter what I do I lose him."

"Maybe not. Remember I mentioned modifying your power?" Willow points out.

"I was there when you checked out texts. You didn't find anything." Chloe replies. "It is ok to do what has to be done. I understand. I will make Clark understand too."

"That was before I met Death in Clark's room. The encounter sparked an idea. Your power feeds on you. I know a spell that would shield your essence from your power. If it works like I hope, your power will move on to easier sources of power." Willow continues.

"But you said the trouble was that is there would be no way to direct where my power draws from." Chloe points out wishing they would just get on with it. "_It won't be so bad being normal._" she thinks.

"That is were I come in. I will bond with you and direct the energy. Once your power has a 'taste' of different sources you should be able to recognize and draw from them. I can even teach you how to draw little bits of power all day long so you minimize the effect you have one the world around you." Willow finishes.

"It's worth a try." Buffy puts in.

"Ok" Chloe answers wiping her tears and feeling a bit childish for them.

Buffy always hates this part. Waiting has never been one of her strengths so she paces back and forth. She was tempted to see if there was something she could do to help but decide she better stand watch/guard as they have no idea when Clark will get back.

Wrapped in her magic, Willow probes Chloe carefully slowly making small adjustments to Chloe's aura. When everything is ready she wraps Chloe in bands of power shield herself. As expected her power manifests searching for a new food source. Willow guides it around the room teaching it about all the power around it. At first Chloe's ability drains too much power from the room but Willow pushes it back. Shows it how to take a bit at a time so the power source will always be there for it. She then brings Chloe's self into the mix. Giving Chloe more conscious control of her ability. Confident that Chloe has a firm hand on her modified ability; Willow steps back and lets Chloe explore her ability. In a few minutes, Chloe is able to draw and then return power to everything in the room. Finishing the ritual Willow sighs with relief. Between having never done anything like that before and the different flavor f this world's magic the ritual taxed her abilities. She is grateful when Buffy wraps her in a blanket while handing her a hot cup of herbal tea.

"Do you need anything Chloe?" Buffy asks.

Distracted by her new ability it takes Chloe a minute to answer. "No I am fine. This is amazing Willow! I never had this kind of control before. My ability just did what it wanted. Thanks"

"No biggy." Willow says as she fights a yawn.

"Let's get you some rest." protective Buffy comments upon seeing the yawn.

Smirking Willow looks up and teases "Yes take me to bed."

"Sleep first then cuddles." Buffy orders.

"uhm" Willow pouts but doesn't resist when Buffy takes her into the bedroom off their guest quarter's living room.

Buffy comes back out to check on Chloe. "So?" she inquires.

"I feel good. A bit strange but I will get used to it. Whatever Willow did not only gave me control of my power but it also made me aware of the energy around me. It's distracting seeing the energy fields around everyone and everything but I will get used to it. I can't tell you how much it means to me. Clark will be thrilled as well." Chloe says.

"Hey helping is what we do." Buffy says. "If you don't mind I think I will get some sleep while I can too."

"Sure." Chloe replies and gets up and leaves their quarters.

Clark strides down the hall determined once more to tell Chloe exactly what is on his mind but as soon as he sees her he wimps out again. She is smiling. How can he rob her of that smile just to argue again about her not using her power any more. "Hi." he says so she will turn that wonderful smile on him. He is pleased to see the smile widen instead of fading as it has all too often lately.

"I have big news. Great news! Willow fixed me." Chloe practically shouts as she runs over to kiss and hug him.

Her happiness is infectious but his overprotective nature has to ask "What did she do?"

"She was able to adjust my ability so it won't feed off me. I can now draw power from everything around me slowly building up a charge. I won't "die" anymore." she explains.

"That is wonderful. Have you tried healing anyone yet just to make sure?" he slightly nervously asks.

"Yes. I spent 2 hours in Medbay healing everyone there. I did blow a few fuse when I drew too much too quickly but otherwise everyone was healed and I stayed on my feet. I am not even tired! This is so great." Chloe exclaims.

"It is." Clark replies while making mental notes to talk to Willow, Dr. Fate, Mr. Terrific, and all the Medbay personal. He hopes she is right but she is too important to him not to make sure.

Annoyance and understanding war within Chloe when she finds out that Clark has been checking up on her. She told him everything was fine and continues to be fine. She has nearly perfect control of her ability now. She does understand why he has to check to make sure but it still bugs her he doesn't take her at her word. She too had herself tested by everyone in the League she could think of. Poor Willow has had to explain what she did to ever League magic user. Luckily, Willow has been a good sport about the whole thing. Buffy was going a bit stir crazy but since Batman asked her to go on a few missions she has been better. She and Batman really seemed to have hit it off. No one can remember when Bats actually asked someone if they wanted to go patrolling with him instead of simply ordering them. All and all life is getting better. Sure her and Clark still have a lot to work out but she now knows they will work it out.

Chloe does feel bad for Buffy and Willow because they haven't found a way back to their world yet but the League will help them to keep trying. Chloe is confident that they will get back home someday soon. In the meantime, she is doing her best to show her gratitude to her new friends.


End file.
